What's Behind All That College Junk Mail?

It was the free iPad2 offer in the email from Assumption College that made me think that things have changed. Sign up to learn more about the school by March 31 and register to win.

When did looking at colleges become like signing up for a new checking acount?

If you have a kid thinking about college, and particularly one who has recently taken a college entrance exam, perhaps you know what I'm talking about. I come home and the mailboxes — snail and electronic — are stuffed with promises of a new, exciting collegiate life waiting to be enjoyed. And I'm not including the Facebook and Twitter pitches.

For the thousands of colleges competing for a slowly dwindling number of students, it's a war out there. There's a mad marketing scrum among college admissions officers looking to grab every high school student they can. Every year, as the pool grows a little smaller, schools must hustle a little more.

In the interests of journalism, I sat down and opened a stack of the letters addressed to my son, a high school junior who (unlike his father) sees no point in opening junk mail. I haven't seen such glossy garbage in my mailbox since Linda McMahon ran for Senate in 2010.

"You're accomplished, eager and motivated,'' a form letter, this one from Emmanuel College, assured me. "Take the next step and reply now!" the dean implored.

"Bright students like you, with passion, drive and an independent spirit, deserve more than the 'typical' college experience,'' the dean of admissions from Hampshire College wrote. The University of Denver urged me to take its "Discover Your College Type Today" quiz, which was "reserved for talented, motivated students.''

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's scary "Major Decision Time" e-quiz wanted to know if I would be "the next great mind to contribute something to society." (I didn't linger there.)

Instead, I was drawn to the online "personality IQ" quiz that St. John's University ("Find the perfect major for your personality!") told me about in the cheery letter from the director of admissions. The quiz, strangely similar to quizzes at other college websites, revealed I was one of the "go-getters" who earn "good salaries'' and who "win most of their arguments without being nasty." If only!

My son just ignores all the letters, even though they appear to be from people who want to be his best friend. I'm fascinated because I see college is now somewhere between picking a political candidate and getting the free toaster from the bank.

You can't blame these schools. Like newspaper publishers, they are watching their business model slip away. The number of public high school graduates in Connecticut is expected to steadily decline over the next decade, to under 34,000 annually by 2021. Nationally, after a peak in 2008, a slow but steady decline is expected until at least 2016.

In a recent "white paper" written for a faculty retreat, Trinity College Pesident James F. Jones sounded the alarm over the "unsettling state of affairs" for liberal arts colleges in particular. Eighty years ago, half of students headed to college went into a liberal arts program. The number is now 6 percent, he said.

Not only are there fewer students, but there are more options.

"The University of Connecticut is today recruiting students who in past times would have more often than not chosen to attend a private institution such as our college,'' Jones wrote. "The demographics for prospective students are changing rapidly. … Those of us with smaller endowments are now witnessing grave difficulties recruiting middle-class students."

UConn, riding a wave of popularity, expects to set another new record for applications this year. "We don't send as much junk mail as other institutions,'' said Nathan Feurst, director of admissions. Many schools have no choice, however, and marketing is just part of doing business, he told me.

"Schools have become very aggressive. A lot of people are getting on board with this. The private institutions are driven by tuition revenue,'' he said. "It comes down to birth rate."

Not surprisingly, there isn't much talk within all these college pitches about mundane topics such as average student loan debt, the ability of graduates to repay loans and earnings potential of graduates. The Obama administration, with its creative proposal for a "College Scorecard," aims to change that. The one-page stat-sheet would give students and families simple and useful facts about what a school offers.

That may come in handy by the time my third kid is ready for college in a few years. Until then, I've got to check the mail.